Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I've been following this debacle about the Vaccine Courts, and the parent's (assumed) right to sue a Vaccine Manufacturer in a civil court.

I do want to talk about is this "law" that seems to be preventing families from suing the vaccine manufacturers for harm to their children/loved ones.

Did Congress mean to block civil suits brought against the vaccine industry? Or was it setting up a "special court" to hear the vaccine injury cases and not trying to block the civil actions?

It's a very good question and one I wish I could answer.

It all started in 1986. Congress passed an act or a law that said parents/individuals/children who were adversely affected by vaccines would go through a special court that would determine what compensation they would get for the damage caused by a vaccine. Now, in order for a parent to get compensation in the case of a vaccine injury, the evidence must be researched by the HHS (Health and Human Services)--which comprise the CDC and National Institutes of Health. It sounds like a good idea...to have such distinguished government agencies working on your case; unless, of course, they are also the defendants and they are also used to test the "safety" of vaccines. How many cases have been dismissed because there was "no cause found"? It's ludicrous, really. (you can read a bit more at PRNews)

Where do the awarded funds come from? Does it come from the vaccine manufacturers? No! It comes from each individual that receives a vaccine. So, every time you get a vaccine (or get your child a vaccine) you pay an additional "tax" that goes into the compensation fund. In essence, you are paying into a fund that will allow you to dip into it should you have an adverse reaction. I still find it humorous that the vaccine manufacturers don't contribute a dime to the compensation...it's all paid by the vaccinated. That's like paying an additional "tax" on every piece of clothing, every toy, every crib, every car you buy so that if someone gets hurt, they can be compensated, without touching the bottom line of the very industry who made the product. Nice, huh?

So, in the recent months, the parents of Hannah Bruesewitz have sought to sue the vaccine manufacturer, Wyeth--a division of Pfizer--because their Vaccine Court case was dismissed citing that there was not enough "proof" that the vaccine caused any injuries.

"She was a healthy 6-month-old baby when she received a vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. Within hours, she suffered scores of seizures and has been developmentally impaired ever since. Her parents claimed her injuries were caused by the vaccine, which was developed in the 1940s, and that the manufacturer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, had declined to substitute another, safer and more modern, vaccine. When the special vaccine court ruled that there was inadequate proof the vaccine caused Hannah's injuries, her parents then sued in state court,"

Now, in state court, the parents would have the ability to subpoena all records from the vaccine manufacturer to learn what the company already knew about the vaccine. I find it a little alarming that parents are not given that right/option in vaccine court! They have to prove harm in the vaccine court, but they cannot subpoena vaccine manufacturer records? Their cases are being "tested" by the very entities that do the preliminary "safety testing" of the vaccines before they hit the market? And the court is supposed to be unbiased? How is this possible?

The Supreme Court is currently deciding on how to rule in the case of vaccine injuries. The lawyer for the manufacturer is stating that if the Supreme Court allows every parent who believes that their child has been harmed by a vaccine to file suit, it will put the industry out of business. I, personally, find that very hard to believe being that the vaccine industry is currently making billions of dollars a year (predicted to hit about $39 BILLION by 2013)--they've not been successfully sued in a court of law for over 15 years. If they paid out 1/4 of the amount they are making, it would hardly put them under. I mean, the Vaccine Industry is claiming that the vaccines are very safe.

But, I have to ask. Why is there a shield in front of the vaccine industry, anyways? If you make a product, shouldn't you be fully liable for that product? If you cannot stand behind the safety of the product, then maybe it should not be on the market! Vaccine manufacturers have been touting the "safety" of the vaccines for years. Parents have been claiming vaccine damage for years. If you buy a car and its defect causes death or disability, you have the right to sue the car manufacturer. If you buy a crib and your child dies as a result of a defect, you have the right to sue the manufacturer. It is believed that if a company is held wholly liable for the defects of their products, they will work harder to make sure that there are as few defects as possible. You can even sue a gun manufacturer if they sell a gun that is "too easily modified" into a more powerful weapon that kills a loved one! This is not the case in the Vaccine Industry. They keep releasing products onto the market that are untested, unknown and touted as the next best thing...and there are no repercussions to the damages these vaccines can cause (Gardasil, being the most recent along with the H1N1 vaccine).

Wouldn't you, as a parent, want the right to hold the manufacturer, of whatever product you purchase, liable for their negligence in their products? Do you not believe that you should have the right to pursue damages in a court of law, should it come to that?

Let's step back and look at the banking industry. How do they compare? Well, take a look what happens to an industry that runs unchecked and mostly unregulated. The housing bubble? The collapse of the economy? These all could have been prevented. While I do believe that each individual must be responsible for themselves, it doesn't change the fact that not having someone, unbiased, keeping tabs on what is going on...will cause disasters of epic proportions. There are members/chairpersons/advisors of the FDA/CDC who either own stock in a vaccine--hence making it valuable to them to have the vaccine marketed--or otherwise have some kind of financial ties to the very industry in which they are supposed to regulate. None of the agencies that are supposed to be "keeping tabs" on the vaccine industry are unbiased...none of them has any interest in keeping the vaccines safe or off the market. For crying out loud! Several years back, a Rotovirus vaccine was pushed on every infant. It was called Rotoshield. What happened to that vaccine? It caused a host of adverse side effects. Most notably, it caused the infants' intestines to become so blocked that they would rupture. This vaccine was available for 15 months! There were reports of over 100 babies that were severely adversely affected by this vaccine. How much money did the manufacturer make? I can definitely tell you how much they paid out in damages: $0 The money that parents did get for compensation was from the very fund that they put their own money in to.

I'm not a litigious person. I think our society overuses the court system on lawsuits that just don't belong. If someone can walk into a store, pour water on the floor and then "fall" and sue the store (no matter how baseless the claim is), then why can't a parent sue a vaccine manufacturer if they feel that a vaccine harmed their child? Some things deserve to see their day in court. Vaccine injuries should be one of them. And not just a day in court; a fair, unbiased day in court. Hold the vaccine industry liable for their products. Maybe then parents can be assured that the Vaccine Industry is doing everything it can to make a safe, viable product that will not cause harm. Maybe then, they'll stop rushing products off the production line that are severely undertested at best and negligent money makers at worst. Prevent individuals who hold any interest in the Vaccine industry from serving on any board that will vote to put a vaccine on the market.

These changes can happen. But, you have to make your voice heard. Do not let the Vaccine Industry hide behind their curtain of money while the general public is served dangerous and deadly vaccine cocktails, just so they can make a quick buck. Your health and your child's health is certainly worth more than that.

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Natural Birth Goddess

About Me

Mom of 3 with twins due in January. I have given natural, drug-free, pain-free birth to all of my children, and am planning on doing the same with my twins. My passion has become helping spread the word about the truth, power, and safety of natural birth.